“Welcome To Diverse TV” And Seven Other Great Things You Missed At The Screen Actors’ Guild Awards

After being instantly blinded by the glare from the 2016 Oscar nominations, we’ve all been overcome by a welcome influx of debate about the issue of diversity on scree over the past few weeks. Director Spike Lee instigated talks of a boycott saying he and his wife would not be attending the ceremony. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith seconded this, insisting that both his industry and nation more generally can do better. Then, it spread. Mark Ruffalo was feeling conflicted. Matt Damon was being more humble than usual. Ian McKellan was drawing attention to the similar injustices being done to the LGBTI community.

This conversation has thankfully led to some concrete change. Most notably, the Academy has announced a “sweeping series of substantive changes” to the make-up of their voters which will include doubling the number of women and “diverse members” by 2020. And, though this has been positively received, it’s far from being a total win. The larger problem lays in the lack of diversity on screens as the entertainment industry is still plagued by serious structural inequalities. Just as in Australia, this is a broad and complicated issue with few simple solutions.

Or, at least that was the glum outlook most people had before the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA yesterday afternoon. A prelude to both the Oscars and the Emmys, the 22nd annual awards ceremony celebrated the best work by actors of film and television in the past year and exactly half the individual honours went to people of colour. HALF.

British actor Idris Elba — who was controversially overlooked in the Oscar noms — became the first person to ever take out two awards in the ceremony, gaining nods for his supporting role in Beasts Of No Nation and lead role in Luther. Queen Latifah thanked her “brothers and sisters in the struggle” after beating Nicole Kidman, Kristen Wiig, Christina Ricci and Susan Sarandon in her category for TV miniseries. Uzo Aduba gave an inspirational speech on hard work and her family’s experience as Nigerian immigrants after winning her billionth award for Orange Is The New Black. Then, following her incredible words at last year’s Emmys and consecutive win for her role in Shonda Rhimes’ How To Get Away With Murder, Viola Davis tackled the issue of diversity head-on.

“We’ve become a society of trending topics,” she told reporters backstage. “Diversity is not a trending topic … All the actors of colour I know don’t place any limitations on themselves regardless of what’s going on with the Academy, regardless of what’s going on in Hollywood, they will find a way to be excellent. We always have and we always will.”

Though this suggests stark differences between the current states of diversity in the film and television industries — Elba was the only actor of colour nominated in the film categories — it does illustrate Davis’ point. There’s some incredible work being done. Thankfully, people are paying attention to it now more than ever before.

In case you missed it completely, here are some other things that came out of yesterday’s ceremony:

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Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Honoured Carol Burnett, Ribbed Leo

“Let’s all calm down about Leonardo DiCaprio and how hard it was to shoot The Revenant, okay?” the pair said while presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to comedian/variety performer/all-round legend Carol Burnett. “So you slept in a horse and you ate bison liver, big whoop. Carol would have slept in that horse, worn it, done a song and a dance and made a much funnier face about eating something very disgusting.”

“The point is, Carol is better than all of us. We’re gonna give her a prize for it … [Her show] made us dream of a life where we could make comedy with our friends, but also be their boss.”

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Alicia Vikander Won And Gave Eddie Redmayne Some Beautiful Feelings

Surprising nobody, Vikander won best supporting female actor — it’s pretty cool that they don’t say “actress”, right? — for her role as Eddie Redmayne’s transgender character’s wife Gerda in The Danish Girl. She showed off her bizarrely elegant accent which sounds like she’s lived one year of her life in every country in the world, was very humble and emotional, and gave a shoutout to the trans community who helped her understand the story.

Also, she made Eddie Redmayne look like this which is just the best:

Looking at Eddie Redmayne looking at Alicia Vikander is making us all kinds of emotional. #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/RPqT5Vgl4f

— E! Online (@eonline) January 31, 2016

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The World Became Weirdly Obsessed With Leonardo DiCaprio Vaping

Though it suggests exciting things for his chance at an Oscar, Leo’s win for best male actor in The Revenant was completely overshadowed by the fact he brought a vape pen into the awards ceremony. EOnline immediately shipped them as “the cutest couple ever”, The Huffington Post jumped on the bandwagon, then Mashable examined the internet’s reaction from all angles.

I have exactly zero opinions on it.

Leo looking like the modern day Thinker, pondering the universe, vape in hand. pic.twitter.com/H3sKMaOqkF

— Mon (@monicanen) January 31, 2016

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Uzo Aduba Brought Her Prom Date

They’ve been friends since kindergarten. This is a relationship I can get behind.

He asked me to the prom, I said yes. I asked him to SAGs, he said yes. #sagawards @mcrow55 pic.twitter.com/YccdMM8fIT

— Uzo Aduba (@UzoAduba) January 31, 2016

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Bryan Cranston Cried On Demand Over Baywatch

Here is a fact you very much need in your life: in 1989, before he was known as Tim Whatley or Hal Wilkerson or Walter White and long before he was given Oscars’ nods for his dramatic work, Bryan Cranston was in Baywatch.

“Wow,” Cranston said when a reporter from E! showed him the footage on the red carpet. “I don’t understand how that could have been overlooked for the Emmys or the SAG awards. It brings a tear to my eye every time. My goodness … I believe my secret for that character was that he had diarrhea.”

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Jason Bateman Called Jeffrey Tambor Dad

Bouncing back from an unexpected loss at the Golden Globes last month, Jeffrey Tambor beat Louis CK, Ty Burrell, William H. Macy and Jim Parsons for his role as transgender woman Maura Pfefferman in Transparent. Jason Bateman, who has played his son in Arrested Development since 2003, welcomed him to the stage in perfect style.

HE KNEW. EVERYONE KNEW. Ahhh, it’s too cute.

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Susan Sarandon Was Her Best Self

As it’s likely dominating headlines in your newsfeed anyway, let’s get it out of the way : yes, 69-year-old actor Susan Sarandon had her boobs out. Nominated for her work in The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe, Sarandon rocked up with a crisp white “power suit”, visible black bra, and the electric “LET’S DO THIS THING” vibe you have after slamming three cocktails on your way to a work party.

Had a wonderful time at the #SAGAwards last night. Thanks @maxmara for the gorgeous power suit! pic.twitter.com/jXiEvlwzFg

— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) January 31, 2016

This led to Kate Winslet copping a feel on the red carpet and lots of people having opinions on the internet — particularly in regards to the fact she wore this to present an in memoriam segment on her friend David Bowie. But — because I think we can all agree she can wear whatever she wants and frankly, Bowie would have approved of a bit of boob — let’s instead focus on this glorious moment where she photobombed the guys from Straight Outta Compton:

Susan Sarandon photobombed the #StraightOuttaCompton cast at the #SAGAwards: https://t.co/LDS9N858ue pic.twitter.com/JVggZD29ru

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) January 31, 2016

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The Full List Of Winners From The 2016 SAG Awards